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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Sixteenth-ranked Tennessee scored the game's first 22 points, and N.C. A&T committed 23 turnovers in the first half as the Volunteers used the Aggies' generosity to cruise to a 99-78 victory Wednesday night at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Dwane Joshua scored 20 points to lead A&T (4-8). Thomas Coleman added 16 points and four blocks, and former Smith point guard Tavarus Alston finished with 15 points and five assists.

Tyler Smith and Kenny Hall led Tennessee with 16 points each. Hall's points were among 60 scored by Tennessee's reserves.

Skylar McBee added 12 points and fellow reserve J.P. Prince had 10, while starter Scotty Hopson scored 10. Brian Williams grabbed 11 rebounds.

"My kids are truly troopers," said Jerry Eaves, A&T's coach. "But to ask them to come in here and play in this type of hostile environment after playing at an ACC school (Miami) two nights before might have been a bit much. I put that on myself."

Tennessee's full-court pressure took effect early. The Aggies turned over the ball 12 times in the first 6½ minutes of the game. By the time the Aggies scored their first points, on an Alston 3 at the 13:13 mark, the Vols already had 22 points. A&T outscored Tennessee 51-44 in the second half.

The Aggies have one more road game, at Tulane on Dec. 30, before they resume MEAC play. A&T has not played at home since Nov. 23.

"The road has truly taken its toll on my team," Eaves said. "I'm proud of the way they played in the second half. We have to learn how to play better on the road, but it will sure be nice to get back to Corbett Sports Center."

Though Tennessee (9-2) ended up dominating A&T, the Vols looked as if they hadn't overcome the shooting woes that plagued them in a lopsided loss to Southern California on Saturday, missing six of their first seven shots from the field.

Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl wants more of his Volunteers to play like McBee — or at least shoot like him.

After Tennessee went a combined 6-for-42 from 3-point range against Wyoming and Southern Cal, the walk-on guard hit three 3s on Wednesday night.

"You could tell he was annoyed and felt personally responsible for the shooting in the past two games," Pearl said. "He looked like he was determined to do something about it."

Pearl often credits McBee as the hardest worker on the team, comparing him to the Southeastern Conference's most prolific 3-point shooter, Chris Lofton, who hit 431 3s for Tennessee from 2004-08. Like Lofton, McBee spends more time in the gym than his teammates.

And after his Vols return from their short holiday break, Pearl is going to make sure they all spend the kind of time practicing their shooting that McBee does.

They'll need to shoot better with games coming up at Memphis and at home against No. 1 Kansas and a Charlotte team that's already beaten Louisville.

Despite McBee's shooting, it was A&T that dominated from outside Wednesday night. Alston and Joshua both had three 3s, and the Aggies finished 10-of-33 from beyond the arc.

But A&T couldn't compete with Tennessee's physical defense. The Vols had 21 steals, and A&T finished with 34 turnovers, leading to 33 Tennessee points.

"I believe we are getting better," Hall said. "The USC game was a slight stumble, but we learned from it."

The Vols dominated inside with 60 points in the paint, and their lead never dropped below 19 points after the initial run.

N.C. A&T (4-8) — Upchurch 0-0 1-2 1, Johnson 5-10 0-0 13, Coleman 5-7 6-8 16, Alston 5-13 2-2 15, Simpson 1-5 0-0 2, Buck 1-1 0-0 2, Powell 1-4 0-1 3, Joshua 5-12 7-10 20, Hill 1-6 0-0 2, Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Witter 0-0 0-0 0, Porter 2-4 0-4 4. Totals 26-62 16-27 78.

TENNESSEE (9-2) — Smith 5-6 6-8 16, Chism 1-3 0-0 3, Goins 0-3 3-4 3, Tatum 3-12 1-2 7, Hopson 5-10 0-1 10, Woolridge 3-7 2-2 9, Maze 1-7 0-0 2, McBee 4-7 1-1 12, Hall 6-8 4-4 16, Pearl 1-1 0-0 2, Bone 1-3 0-0 2, Prince 4-6 2-5 10, Williams 3-9 1-2 7. Totals 37-82 20-29 99.

Halftime—Tennessee 55-27.
3-point goals—N.C. A&T 10-33 (Joshua 3-6, Johnson 3-7, Alston 3-9, Powell 1-4, Coleman 0-1, Hill 0-3, Simpson 0-3), Tennessee 5-26 (McBee 3-6, Chism 1-2, Woolridge 1-3, Bone 0-2, Maze 0-4, Hopson 0-4, Tatum 0-5).
Fouled out—Witter.
Rebounds—N.C. A&T 43 (Porter 11), Tennessee 50 (Williams 11).
Assists—N.C. A&T 16 (Alston, Hill 5), Tennessee 26 (Prince 6).
Total fouls—N.C. A&T 21, Tennessee 23.
Technical—Joshua.
A—17,759.